


Soldier

by Vishanka



Category: Outlast (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, Other, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:53:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27713675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vishanka/pseuds/Vishanka
Summary: Murkoff was kicked out of their Asylum. The Variants banded together in an initiative to contain the Walrider.Chris Walkers point of view. Gave him a girl to play with.Enjoy.
Relationships: Chris Walker/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

Walker locked the door behind him. There would be no escape. Not anymore. He had chased his target for days, and although it took much longer than before to get tired, he still felt relieved that his hunt would finally be over.

He stood in silence as he tried to locate the person, listening into the dimly lit room for any sign of motion. There, at the far end of the room, in an alcove between shelf and desk, he sensed frail, stifled breathing that was barely noticeable over the soft humming of the surrounding computers.  
With relentless determination, he quickly crossed the room at a firm tread and towered in front of the person.  
He stared down at his find. And with eyes wide open, a woman's frightened face stared at him.

◊

He had to process the situation for a moment and stopped so as not to reveal his astonishment. She was not dressed like Murkoff staff, nor like anyone supposed to do business around here. How did she get here?

The girl remained paralyzed, as if fearful that any movement would lead to her immediate demise.  
Dark shadows under her eyes adorned her otherwise pretty features and her pressed lips trembled barely noticeably. She had her arms wrapped around her knees in a desperate embrace, as if to give herself some comfort. 

Walker couldn't help but hiss through his teeth with a disdainful grin and exhaled to release some tension.  
He took a moment to weigh things up. He could just kill her and be done with it, but something inside of him urged him not to, was it curiosity? Or did he give in because she was female? He wasn't sure what was holding him back, but either way he could still send her the easy way out later.

Satisfied with his short-term solution, he decided to give it a try and knelt to lessen his threatening presence. It didn't work as intended when the girl winced, breathing heavily, and clung to the wall as if wishing it would let her through.  
"...alright..." he tried to calm her down. He wasn't sure what to say.  


She stared at him like a deer looking into headlights.  
"What's your name?" he tried further.  
She did not answer. 

He sat down in front of her and waited. This could take a while.

◊

Quite some time passed but eventually progress was made. He had started thinking about just grabbing her and dragging her up to their base.  
The girl hadn't moved or made a sound, but suddenly Walker noticed that she was struggling to stay alert.  
The monotonous hum of the computers and the dim light seemed to be paying off. Her fearful expression faded and a repetitive blink broke her stare.  
She leaned her head against the wall and threw him a last desperate grin before surrendering to her exhaustion.

Walker waited a few moments, but she didn't startle.  
He stood up calmly and knelt in front of her again. Fragile, he thought, reaching almost absently for her face. Before he could touch her, she suddenly opened her eyes, backed away, and grabbed his wrist tightly. Walker stopped in his motion, although she didn't try too hard. She seemed to know that she was far inferior to his strength and that resistance would be in vain. She looked him steadfast in the eye - it was a request.  
Walker snorted and ignored her grip. He grabbed her shoulder and sent her back to rest with a quick squeeze on her pressure point. Her hand let go of his arm and fell useless to the floor.  


◊

Maybe he should have done so sooner as it would have saved him a lot of time, he thought as he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. He wanted to have a free hand when he crossed the asylum.  
Easily he moved the rack with which he had blocked the door. He still had to be careful not to attract too much attention and inadvertently bump into the Walrider. They were still on the ground floor, near the territory he was roaming.  
He waited and listened into the darkness, but the unmistakable sound of the swarm could not be heard.

For him, the girl was very lightweight and in between he thought he should have been more careful not to accidentally kill her. Limp as a corpse she hung over his shoulder, her arms slapping his back repeatedly. He even paused once to make sure he hadn't knocked her out forever, but found that she was still breathing.

He walked quietly through the dark corridors that had become so familiar to him. Most of the interior of the building was shrouded in permanent darkness as the lamps had long been destroyed. Walker liked it that way, he felt uneasy being exposed to the light. The treatment he had received under Murkoff's control had since improved his vision and enabled him to see well at night.  
Occasionally he stopped and tried to smell unwanted company in the dark.

The stairs were lit and he was going to turn off the lights when suddenly a primal scream echoed from the walls. One of the frightened patients jumped down from the elevator gate to attack him from above.  
Walker turned around quickly and instinctively swiped in the direction he felt the movement. He caught the man on his flight and hit him on the chest so hard that he was thrown back to the elevator shaft and slid to the ground.  
"You fucking fuck!" shouted the madman furiously as he stood up dazed and spat saliva and blood with every word. "Fucker! You fuck!!"  
In a blind rage, he charged forward.   
Walker turned quickly to keep the girl out of the way when the man attacked him regardless of loss. Walker reached out and held him at a distance with one hand. The man tried desperately to put his whole self into the punches that reached Walker's body, but it was as useless as hitting concrete.  
The man stumbled back a few steps as he became out of breath and dismay gripped what remained of his sanity.  
Walker gave a malicious grin.  
"One for the stack." he purred gently.

◊

When he finally arrived on the second floor, he crossed the last hallway and turned right to enter the decontamination chamber that protected their retreat. As the doors closed around him, an excited voice came through the speakers.  
"Walker! What hav-…?"  
"Quiet." he interrupted harshly.  
When the door at the other end opened again, a curious face peered out of the observation room, which was connected to the decontamination chamber.  
"Is that..." the guard began, confused, but Walker cut him off again.  
"Take this to the library," he grunted, handed him a blood-dripping, severed head and stalked off.

◊

Entering his room Walker locked the door and took a deep breath.  
The unconscious girl was still thrown over his shoulder and her arms swung uselessly against his back. He pulled her in both arms and let his eyes wander around the room. The entire floor once served as apartments for Murkoff employees who had to stay in the institution because of their work.  
His quarters were a room with an alcove for cooking and one for sleeping; The main chamber was furnished with a couch and a television screen. His eastside window once gave a first glimpse of the sunrise over the mountains; but he had boarded it up because he had the unsettling feeling of being watched. He knew he was overreacting, but he couldn't shake the feel and had boarded all the windows on the entire floor to keep the light out.

Walker decided to take her to his bed behind the ledge. He carefully put her down while trying to get her limbs into a possibly comfortable position and brushed her dark hair back from her face. He paused for a moment and frowned. Why did he even bother, he thought to himself, clenching his fist in frustration.  
However, when he looked at her dirty face and saw her peaceful expression, he felt a deep sadness that he could not yet fully understand. Although this girl appeared to be the cause, she also provided relief.

For a while he sat quietly at the corner of the bed, lost in thought. Then he got up and covered her with his blanket before turning to retire to the couch for the night.  
He would sort that out later.


	2. Chapter 2

It was already late in the morning when Walker was awakened by a presence in his room.

Scattered rays of sunlight shone through the narrow gaps in the boards by the window and lit the room in a dim warmth. Dozing on, he kept his eyes closed and tried to remember what might have caused this wake-up call. As the memories slowly returned, he had to smile before opening his eyes and peering into the alcove.

It seemed almost unreal that she was there, but she was.

She had turned to the wall in her sleep and was still breathing calmly and peacefully. Walker decided not to wake her and waited, resting his head on his fist. Although he felt very relaxed, he couldn't deny a certain curiosity about what the day would bring. Soon the girl's even breathing stopped and she moaned softly. She wrapped herself more snuggly in the blanket, but then paused as the bits of her memories began to sort themselves. She didn't recognize her surroundings, jumped up and looked around frantically.

When she saw him, she froze and held his gaze while she clawed her fingernails tightly into the mattress.  
He wasn't sure what he had expected, maybe that she would scream or jump up and run for the exit.

"You're quiet." Walker noted after a while.  
She neither answered nor reacted at all.  
"You tell me your name?"  
Nothing.  
"Don't want to speak?"  
Silence. Walker frowned, not sure what to do.  
Then she responded with a barely perceptible shake of her head. Walker snorted, thinking it couldn't hurt to give her some time to adjust.  
"I get food. Don't run."  
As he left he turned on the light and locked the door behind him.

◊

It was almost permanent twilight on their floor. The Variants did not complain about his orders to keep unwanted looks out.  
Many of them had improved sensory perception just like him. Bright light would hurt their eyes and almost everyone preferred to whisper to protect their ears.  
Walker went quietly into their common room in which some of them sat spread across on various chairs or boxes. A tense silence pervaded the room and some curiously straightened up as he stepped through the door.  
A worn sofa had been placed in the center of the room and a couple of stools clad a bar on the side. Dimmed ceiling lights lit a table in the middle, where Crowell and Hudsman, among others, looked up and interrupted their ongoing card game.

"I thought he would bring her," said one of the Twins, who leaned serenely against the wall.  
"You think she still lives?"  
"I think he crushed her..."  
"Maybe-"  
"Walker!" Jakobson yelled excitedly from the bar table and received several admonishing looks. "...oh... I'm thoh-rry" he lisped soothingly, jumped up and padded forward into the lighted area.  
"They thay you found a feh-male" he emphasized and held out the last word, almost reverently.  
"Is she... delicate..?" Mcalister cooed, taking advantage of the distraction and discreetly slipping a card from the table.  
Walker grumbled, looked around defiantly, and glared grimly at Hudsman, who hurried off caught, as he was supposed to still be on guard duty.  
He didn't want to talk about the girl now, or receive questions about why he had brought her with him. He was still struggling with a justification for himself.

"Speaking of..." he interjected. "How come you didn't brief me, Crowell?" he lashed out. Crowell was responsible for observing the surveillance system as he was missing both legs and unable to join the patrols.  
Crowell hesitated. "She wasn't on any of the recordings. I- I double-checked." he added quickly when he noticed the expression on Walker's face. "Either she came in right after Murkoff entered, or ..."  
"...or there's a weak point." the Twins carried on.  
"Can't be too much of a problem if she couldn't escape afterwards." Walker scoffed, though it worried him a little.  
"Why don't you go and just ask her how she got in?" Mcalister grinned.  
"She's yet to talk." he dodged.  
"Oh, yea... ath if that ever wath an ith-thue to you" Jakobson joked.  
Walker flipped him off.

◊

When it was just before noon, Walker grabbed something to eat and went back to his room, for which some of the Variants grinned suggestively at him. Although he had a kitchen in his apartment, he has never used it because meals were always prepared for everyone. The girl should have had enough time to calm down by now.  
When he entered the room, she was standing by the window, peering outside. She had peeled off a board on one side to enlarge the field of view and gave him a nervous look over her shoulder before turning back outside.

"Got some food" he said and put it on the kitchen table.

Out of nowhere she turned to him.  
"You saw my father?" she asked in a quiet voice. Walker was surprised that she had collected a little, but even more that she was speaking now.  
"Who is he?" he inquired.  
"Nathan... Coleman... hasn't come home in months ..." she said.  
Walker frowned to remember if he had heard that name before.  
"I'll see" he promised and left.

◊

He went to the library where he had collected the heads of everyone he had ever killed. They were arranged in alphabetical order and he used their dog tags, visas, phones, or whatever they carried for identification.  
There was also a shelf with heads he couldn't name, but if this Coleman guy had worked for Murkoff he would be sure to find him on the main shelf.  
He scanned the name tags and soon found something. Coleman must have been one of those he killed during the security breach, as the head was already significantly decayed. It would be enough for recognition, he thought, taking the head with him.

Back in his apartment, he found that the girl had at least accepted the food he had brought and was now standing at the window again. This time she didn't turn around when he came in, so he walked over to her and held the head up for her to examine.  
"That him?" Walker asked.  
She whirled around and gave him a horrified look before regaining her composure and avoiding looking at the head again.  
"I see..." she breathed voicelessly. "And my brother?"  
"Your-" Walker paused in alarm and his face turned serious.  
The girl turned white as a sheet when she realized her mistake.  
Walker turned around on the spot and hurried to the door. She ran after him in a foolish attempt to stop him, but he pushed her back and she fell to the floor. Before she could get up he had already locked the door and all she could do was pound on it from the inside.

He went straight to the common room and pushed the door open. All eyes were on him as he raised his voice.  
"She had company."  
Everyone in the room quickly jumped up and made their way to scour the lower levels again.  
As Walker passed the decontamination chamber, Hudsman poked his head curiously out to find out why everyone was storming down.  
Walker shoved Coleman's rotting head into his hands.  
"Take this to the library." he prompted.

◊

The Variants had salvaged radios from the first security forces and now used them for communication. Except for the Twins, who never separated, they never roamed around together.  
Each had their assigned domain in the state of emergency so they wouldn't get in each other's way, thus covering most of the asylum at the same time.

Although closer to the Underground Lab, the Sewers, which were Walker's responsibility, turned out to be a relatively safe area, as the Walrider never stalked around here.   
At one end they led to the ground floor of the Male Ward. It was administered by Trager, who once worked for Murkoff and had built his own domain there, acting out his own delusions of surgery. He was a for-profit and dangerous man who did not distinguish between Murkoff's people and inmates in his actions.  
The other end led up to the Prison Blocks, which were still inhabited by a few inmates.   
Walker made sure that the areas were always closed off from each other so that Trager could not claim patients too often. Both the remaining madmen and people like Trager were important in creating a confusing situation. It was essential that no one who intruded could get a quick overview.

The Sewers led to almost every area of the asylum and were the core that underpinned the institution. Some areas were partially flooded and several footbridges and ladders were under water and could only be reached by diving. Various shafts led along the floor from the rounded walls, connecting the individual corridors. In some places there was a ceiling grille that let in some extra light for the sparse lighting.

Walker strode across the grate on the floor, peering behind every box and gutter that a small person could have passed through.  
He checked the stairs and trap doors that led up to the ground level to see if they were still locked. He went through the entire area twice and couldn't find anything unusual; nor did he perceive anything further when he scanned the surroundings with his senses. The boy wasn't here.  
Could he have escaped? From what he understood about ordinary people, he did not expect that he would leave his sister behind. Maybe he was already dead in some ventilation shaft and they'd never find him, Walker thought tensely.  
But what worried him most was the fact that Crowell hadn't spotted them on any of the camera shots. Maybe there was a blind spot somewhere and he had to find it - or get it out of the girl later.

◊

After he had finished the second round of the Sewers, he climbed the stairs to the Prison Blocks and unlocked the door. When he stepped in there was a hectic bustle in the multi-story prison cells as the residents scattered and took cover from him. They feared and despised Walker, as he had already collected many of their heads. At first there was a lot of conflict between the Variants and the patients who had not received hormone therapy, and it took a while for some sort of order to develop.   
They were the hopelessly lost, partly followers of the preacher Father Martin, while others viewed the Walrider as a godlike entity. Some were simply mentally disturbed and had long since ceased to perceive their environment as this, or had developed inclinations that could not be integrated even in a place like this.

While he was crossing the Prison Blocks he thought hard about what he might have missed and decided to pay Trager a visit. Perhaps the boy had run into the would-be surgeon.  
He looked around briefly and stepped randomly into a cell on his left, in which a naked, huddled man was hiding under his bed frame. He bent down and pulled him out from underneath by one leg. The man thrashed around in panic and whimpered for mercy, but Walker pinned him to the ground with his knee, turned and pulled him into a position in which he could lead him away.  
Roaring and clattering like monkeys in the zoo followed Walker as he forcibly dragged his prisoner down the stairs to the Sewers.

◊

"Trager!" Walker grunted harshly as he went down the hall of the Male Ward.  
"Buddy!" a cheerful voice answered.   
Trager gracefully appeared from a room to the right, wielding huge scissors in one hand.  
"To whom do I owe the honor of your visit? In need of a new nose?" he quipped, wiping his bloodied hand into his dirty apron.  
Walker ignored his provocation. "I'm looking for someone."  
"I know you never were the sharpest tool in the box in terms of profit, but to throw out all of its valu-"  
"I'm not here for your prattle, Trager", Walker snarled impatiently.  
His captive spasmed and twisted against his grip and Walker grabbed his neck hard to steady his wriggling.  
"Ah, I see how it is. You know, for the lumbering brute that you are, you're a pretty fast thinker. What's in it for me?" he haggled.  
He nodded to the wriggling man. "Tell me what I want and you can have him."  
"I've already begun to wonder if the conditions are still met on both ends. Well, I'm afraid to disappoint you." flattered Trager and stared greedily at the man. "Neither of them made it because of your clever little attack party. And I can't say your efforts are any lucrative for my business."  
"Alright then." Walker sighed unnerved. He had what he wanted. Since Trager believed he was talking about the group Murkoff sent in, he hadn't seen the boy.  
He pushed his prisoner forward and threw him to the ground. Violently he stomped on his leg to prevent him from running away. The man cried out in agony as his leg bones splintered and Walker left him defenseless at the mercy of the surgeon.  
"I did't bargain for damaged goods", Trager shouted angrily after him, but Walker just shrugged his shoulders indifferently and headed back to the Sewers.

◊

"Walker, we found the boy" a calm rough voice reported through the radio. It was the Twins.  
"Copy." he responded and turned on his heel.  
"Female ward, basement, ceiling collapsed." they added as he was already heading their way.

◊

Walker jumped down a floor into the basement of the Female Ward.  
He didn't know exactly where the Twins were waiting for him and searched the area. Much of the ceiling had already collapsed and he wandered carefully through the partially buried corridors, trying to make out their shapes in the darkness.  
As he passed a room, he felt a certain tingling sensation, an inkling that eyes were on him, and went inside.  
The Twins leaned casually against the wall and nodded their heads towards the floor. Turning on a flashlight, Walker came closer and the beam of light fell on the boy's lean body, which was buried under heavy parts of the ceiling. His fair hair fell lank around his even paler face, which was covered with dust and bruises. When he tried to examine him more closely, the boy's eyes blinked at him numbly.  
He was noticeably expressionless and it seemed as if he was completely paralyzed from the eyes downwards. Most of his body was shattered and buried under the heavy stones. How could he still be alive?  
Walker knelt in front of him and caught his gaze and the boy stared back into his shredded face, aware of what was to come.  
"She is safe." he assured him quietly. For some reason it seemed important to him to let him know.  
The boy couldn't answer him and just blinked dazedly. Walker put his hand on his head and looked firmly into his eyes.  
"I'll get you out," he muttered to him. "Will not hurt," he added comfortingly as tears ran down the young man's face.  
Unable to avert his fate, the boy had no choice but to accept it and closed his eyes for the last time.  
With a quick jolt, Walker dislocated his neck, relieving him of his agony.

◊

Suddenly his skin began to creep as his senses picked up a presence before it even reached his conscience.  
"Walrider!" he hissed in alarm and hastily switched off the light. The Twins, who had watched the scene in silence, jumped a step forward from the wall. They peered into the darkness and tried to see if they had been spotted.  
They listened tense and to their horror the certain noise of the swarm came closer flashing the images of the static once more before their eyes.  
Trapped in the room, they would all fall victim to the Walrider if they didn't react immediately.  
"Run." ordered Walker and the three of them rushed out of the room in different directions.  
Walker ran down the corridors as fast as his lungs would allow and the collapsed parts of the ceiling made it difficult for him to escape.  
He'd chosen the route to the Administration Block, bashed the next door off its hinges, and panted up the stairs. His lungs had been damaged in the course of treatment and he soon fell into a hasty trot before stopping to catch his breath. But he seemed lucky. The Walrider didn't seem to be chasing him.  
In the distance he heard rumblings and doors slamming as the Twins tried to slow him down to get out of his reach.  
They always spread in case of an attack, as the Walrider couldn't hunt multiple targets at once and, even if he caught one, at least the others would be able to make their escape.  
Walker continued up the stairs and made his way back to their retreat, still breathing heavily. He hoped to meet the Twins there again later. For now there was nothing he could do for them.

◊

The girl was sitting on the couch, locked in her own arms. As he got in, she remained motionless, but he could sense her attention focused on him.  
"He escaped." he remarked shortly.


	3. Chapter 3

The next few days and nights Walker spent with Crowell reviewing the camera footage. He only needed sleep every few days, and they were making good progress, but after skimming through endless amounts of video material, he had to admit that Crowell might have been right. Murkoff had shut down the cameras in the main hall, but it seemed incredibly unlikely the siblings entered right after, flashing through their dispute unseen.

◊

The girl had fallen silence ever since the passing of her brother.  
All day long she did nothing and stood or sat and stared into space. Most of the time, Walker was not in the room and only checked on her now and then to bring food and to make sure she was still alive. He considered asking her if she intended to follow her brother, but on the other hand, it reassured him that she wasn't refusing the meals he brought. Otherwise he left her alone. In time, she might recover and give life another chance.

◊

When Walker entered his room at lunchtime, her silhouette stood out in front of the window. Her hair fell greasy and flat around her shoulders when she suddenly tossed her head and turned to him for attention.  
"Why do you keep me here?" she demanded straight.  
Walker took a moment to consider as he placed down the plate and approached.  
"There's only one way out of here." he declared firmly.  
Suddenly she seemed irritable. "We got in, too." she protested.  
"Speaking of." Walker hooked up. "How'd you do it?"  
She narrowed her glance and snapped at him: "Why would I tell you?"  
"Cause I asked" he mumbled calmly. She seemed to be enraging herself and he knew better than to stir her up further. "We need to ensure Murkoff-"  
"I spit on Murkoff!" she yelled, but Walker had enough.

He took a quick step forward and caught her off guard. Skillfully he whirled her around to grab her neck and pushed her down into a wristlock.  
"Don't fucking touch me!" she raged and tried hard to break out of his grasp.  
"Look at that. There's some fight in you." Walker teased, carefully turning her wrist a little more. He wasn't about to hurt her.  
"I'm not afraid of you!" she scolded and struggled against his grip. "Kill me already as you did with-" The girl was interrupted and cried out in pain as Walker twisted her wrist further.  
"And now, little lady, you will pull yourself together." he demanded grimly.  
"Make me" she hissed defiantly and hot tears welled up in her eyes as Walker clutched her neck tight. Soon after, her resistance subsided and she gave in to the pain the wristlock was causing.   
"What do you want from me?" Exhausted, she hung in his grip and Walker gave in a little. He didn't answer right away and continued to hold her down so that she would settle a bit. "Just finish it, get it over with." she kept whining at him.  
"You want to die?" Walker grunted in annoyance and pushed her away from him. She stumbled forward and caught herself on the windowsill before quickly turning back to him in surprise.   
"I won't stop you. I would even help you. But until then, spare me your empty phrases." he growled.  
Throwing her a disparaging look, he turned to the exit and left her as if struck by lightning.

◊

Disgruntled, he trudged down the corridor. The argument went a little differently than he had wanted, but at least he had learned enough to allow himself to suspect that there was indeed a blind spot.

He decided to head down to the Female Ward to at least collect the boy's head. He had to leave him behind when the Walrider surprised them. But he also suspected that the boy hadn't been hanging around down there by accident, and had possibly tried to leave the asylum the same way he had come in. If the girl didn't want to talk, he'd have to find out for himself.

The Female Ward had long been deserted and was one of the areas most poorly monitored by them, apart from the areas occupied by Trager or Gluskin. They mainly monitored the outside areas and the parts around the entrances to the Underground Lab. In addition, there were a couple of escape routes, most of which they had now made impassable.

This time he took a tactical approach and paid a visit first to Crowell, who was still vigorously skipping through the camera footage.  
"You're still looking at the live recordings, aren't you?" Walker admonished him. "The girl is here now and is currently doing no other damage. Don't be distracted."  
"Sorry, Walker." he confessed and rolled his wheelchair to the computer, from which the recordings were controlled and switched to the live broadcast.

They had set up the surveillance room themselves using devices from the Administration Block. Originally it had been a kind of conference room, in which Murkoff's clever doctors probably once racked their brains over them. One side of the room consisted of a complete glass front. Up here the windows were not barred as the rooms were not designed for patients.  
Black thick curtains were drawn in front of the panes, which had also previously been used to darken the room if necessary.  
The other long side was now equipped with monitors that switched back and forth between the individual cameras.  
Only the entrance and outside areas were under constant observation.  
Crowell was very tech savvy and worked as a networker in his previous life. His skills were essential to the group, as none of them knew anything about such things.  
It was Crowell who made sure Murkoff stayed blind in here. He also cut them off from their Underground Lab and reprogrammed the Security Doors to prevent them from accessing anything in there.  
Walker went around the table in the center and briefly scanned the monitors.  
"I'll have a look around the Female Ward." he instructed Crowell. "You make sure I don't run into the Walrider", and symbolically he handed him the radio.

◊

The Walrider roamed around the courtyard a lot and Walker explained it by saying that his host Billy, who had a childlike disposition, preferred to 'play' outdoors, if you could call it that.  
He was an ambivalent entity. On the one hand, he was dependent on his host and could be controlled by him, but also had his own consciousness and did not like to be taken over. There was no recognizable logic in his behavior. For example, he could ambush them anywhere on the first floor or give Murkoff's emergency services access to the Underground Lab, but he didn't. Whom he killed and who not seemed mostly completely arbitrary and most of the time he just roamed around, apparently pointless, and let himself be praised by his lackeys, even if he did not always spare them.  
Walker knew it from himself in the brief moments in which his subconscious and that of the Walrider merged. Control should be achieved through lucid dreaming, but this state was very blurry and everyone experienced a different act in their dream.  
Walker and the other Variants were forced to try taking control of the Walrider in the experiments. Most of them were not compatible, which resulted in great agony and caused most of the deformations and tumors that the Variants had to live with now.

◊

When Walker got back down to the Female Ward, he first went to the boy's dead body. The rats had already started to eat their fill of him and a few fled away, startled by the sudden light of his flash lamp.  
His eyes, that had last seen Walker before they went out forever, had disappeared from their sockets and made a gruesome sight. Parts of his skull and cheeks were exposed and Walker thought it might be better not to show his head to the girl. He roughly held him on the head and applied counter pressure against his body with the other hand. With a quick jerk he separated the two neatly from each other.

Then he began to search the area. They had never paid much attention to the Female Ward because it was of no interest to Murkoff's people.  
For the most part, he only knew the site from the construction plans, which were no longer up-to-date as the blocked paths and collapsed parts were not added.  
He mostly paced the rooms that adjoined the outside of the facility and illuminated the walls, ceiling and floor to find any indication of a passage. He couldn't explain why such a thing shouldn't be listed in the plans, but he didn't have any other idea at the moment.

Soon Crowell was on the radio. "Walker, he's off-screen." he warned him curtly.  
Walker cursed inwardly and turned off the flashlight. He stood motionless and listened to the eerie silence. And to his horror he soon had that terrible feeling again, the tingling sensation under the skin that announced the approaching Walrider. Why did he have to be down here now, of all times, Walker thought grimly and his heartbeat quickened with the tension. This time he was alone and it would be frivolous of him to try to run. Instead he crept quietly behind some forgotten furniture and crouched silently on the floor.  
The swarm approached and zigzagged through the rooms, Walker's heart pounding with nervousness up to his throat. If he was discovered it would be over and he tried to hold still as the images of the static flickered wildly before his eyes and almost drove him crazy. Sweat ran down the back of his neck and he tried to remain calm and not make any noise as the Walrider floated past the room he was in.  
He waited a moment until he was sure that the Walrider wouldn't come back and he could gradually see clearly again. His head still throbbed a bit as he quietly got up and crept up the stairs to the Administration Block.  
How he loathed that thing he thought with a still pounding heart.

He was only relieved when he reached their decontamination chamber on his way back. Briefly he stepped into the observation room and pressed the nibbled head into Hudsman's hands.  
"Take this to the library," he said.

◊

Walker quickly looked around his room but she wasn't there. He searched the bed niche and unfolded the blanket, even looked in the closet to see if she was hiding in it. He was imagining that she might still be afraid of him after he had left her so rough that morning.  
Gradually he got restless and tried to remember if the door was locked when he came back, but soon shook his head and dismissed the concern. Even if she got out, she would have to get past Hudsman; and then went over to check the bathroom.  
He opened a crack but heard quick steps rushing to the door and she pressed against it from the inside to keep it shut.  
Walker paused, shrugged and retired to the couch to turn on the television. Usually he didn't watch TV because there wasn't anything that interested him. The problems of the outside world seemed completely indifferent here and besides, there was always enough to be done so that he didn't want to spend his time on that. But currently he intented to create a relaxed atmosphere.

After a while the door opened and Walker found that she had taken a shower. Her hair was still wet and she had dug a set of oversized clothes from the closets that didn't belong to him. She was holding her own clothes in her hands and for a moment she stared at him in disbelief as he sat there watching TV, a scene that seemed so peculiar.  
"Where do I put this?" she asked carefully and he pointed casually towards the door.

Afterwards she took heart, sat down nervously at the other end of the sofa and made as if to have to say something. He suspected that this might have to do with their argument earlier that day.  
"I don't understand why you keep me here." she started after some time.  
Walker turned the volume down on the remote and turned to her attentively.  
As he didn't answer she continued "I mean ..." she struggled to express herself, "I-I saw what you did." she stuttered and let a quick glance wander over his still blood-caked hands and his ruined face.  
"I do not know." he replied calmly. Though honest, his answer didn't help her any further and was unsatisfactory, he could read from her expression. "You scared?" he grumbled.  
She let her gaze wander over him again and then nodded her head briefly.  
"Before what I could do to you?" he continued, amused to see her nervously tensing up. He laughed it off and smirked, "There are worse fates. Did your father tell you about his work?"  
The girl looked at him doubtfully. "Just that he worked with insane people." she whispered and glanced once more at his scarred face. "Are you insane?" it slipped out of her and she immediately regretted the question.  
"Most likely." he chuckled.

◊

They sat together for a while and let themselves be showered by the superficial television program even if neither paid attention to it. Walker enjoyed the situation and was pleased their argument at noon had shaken her a little bit awake. She kept glancing sideways at him now and then, but he could live with that. He had been in this facility for so long now that he had not since wondered how his appearance might look to others, and he really didn't care. Nor had he expected to ever deal with an outsider again whom he wasn't going to tear off their head.

"Does my face worry you?" he asked at some point reading her look.  
"A little." she fibbed and evaded his gaze. "You stay here tonight?" She seemed to want to keep the dialogue going, maybe to get over her nervousness or to get a better read of him.  
"Catch up on some sleep." he confirmed shortly.  
"You don't sleep much." the girl noted hoarse.  
"And you don't live much." Walker countered.  



	4. Chapter 4

Since she had started speaking Walker spent more time to busy himself in his apartment than he used to. He wouldn't have told anyone, but he felt comfortable in her presence and didn't want to easily lose the little contact that had developed between them.  
She had started to watch TV more often and he had to shake his head at the fact that she wanted to deal with such trifles. On the other hand, he thought it might bring her over the death of her father and brother and he preferred it to her staring into the void; though anyway there wasn't much else for her to do.

He had fetched the blueprints from the asylum and intended to update them.  
At first he wanted to draw into the old plans, but it became so confusing that he created them from scratch and also marked their monitored areas.  
"Come." he asked her sometime. She gave him a nervous look, then rose from her cross-legged position on the couch, where she had tried to sew on one of the pants so they would stop slipping off her hips.  
"Show me." he said, nodding at the Female Ward blueprint.  
For a while she read the plan and tried to orientate herself on it, but she couldn't. She didn't really know her way around the asylum and the plan could have represented any area.  
"There is an underground tunnel that leads inside." she said instead. "My brother found it skimming around my dad's notes."  
"Does Murkoff know about it?"  
"I don't know. We- we just thought... we tried to visit him, but Murkoff always brushed us off at the entrance. We were worried."  
Walker grunted. "You think you can narrow it down?"  
She shrugged her shoulders uncertainly. " We brought the document with us, but Eric had it and I don't know if he still carried it with him when..." she fell silent.

"What's going on here anyway?" she started again after a short pause.  
Walker hesitated. How could he summarize the situation briefly?  
"Your father's work wasn't what it appeared to be." he explained. "They created a dangerous being and did things to us."  
"A being?" she wondered.  
"They call him the Walrider. Basically nanites made by the Nazis to conquer the world or something." he shrugged. "I don't know much about the details."  
"Sounds like some bad movie," the girl doubted and eyed him intently, as if to figure out he was serious.  
“You don't believe me, do you." he stated softy. "See for yourself."

◊

For the first time they left his apartment together and Walker hoped she wouldn't take the chance and try to escape still. But for her the floor was pitch black and she couldn't orient herself as they could.  
He led her, hand on her shoulder, to the monitoring room. Crowell, who was typing vigorously on his computer, looked up surprised when they entered.  
"So this is your trophy," he quipped casually.  
The girl looked at him intimidated, examining his missing legs and especially the deformed crooked face that looked like sewn together from several parts.  
She backed away, barely noticeable, and Walker nudged her gently to guide her forward.

"I want her to see him." he clarified and pushed her down into a chair.  
"Be my guest" Crowell flattered and turned his wheelchair towards the wall as well.

Crowell kept staring at her and she endured it for a while, shifting nervously in her chair. Walker stood right behind her, scanning the screens for any sign of the Walrider.  
"Would you stop that" she finally snapped at Crowell irritably.  
Crowell puzzled and appeased, "Sorry. It's a rare sight."  
Walker had to smile in amusement, but at the same time thought that he couldn't let her run around unsupervised in their refuge. Not all of them were as sedate as Crowell, and some of them would surely lose their composure if a woman appeared around them.

"There." Crowell noted and pointed to a screen to their right.  
A creature as if made of black smoke floated through the image section and turned a round before it slipped out of view again.  
The girl sat up straight and couldn't believe what she had just seen.  
"Well, Miss Coleman." Walker grinned crookedly at her reaction. "See now?"  
She didn't answer, but stared at him with wide eyes in amazement. Walker pulled her back with a clap on the shoulder.  
"That's all." he turned to Crowell.

◊

So now he had to find the document the boy supposedly had with him, he thought as he strutted down the first floor. He turned a corner when suddenly an object hit him hard on the head and knocked him over.  
Hysterical screams rang out as several hands grabbed him and tried to fix his arms and legs while others were about to tie him up with ropes and chains. Somewhat dazed, he tried to get up and shake them off, but immediately others rushed on him to keep holding him on the ground.  
"We got him!" exclaimed an excited voice. "We got him!"  
"Walrider! Walrider!" a chant rang out while others shouted Wernicke's name in between.  
Walker growled doggedly and tried to get up, but someone gave his head a foot sweep while another shouted, "Don't kill him! He wants him alive!" just before someone cut a gaping wound in his chest which brought him to the ground again. "Wernicke! Dr. Wernicke!" one kept screaming while he fiddled with his member.  
Suddenly, one of the patients cried out in pain and warm liquid rained down on Walker's chest. They screamed in panic and uttered insults when someone appeared to break up the ambush. A few remained motionless on the floor and soon the rest of them fled for their lives.  
Walker straightened up a bit to see what had happened.  
"He looks battered," the Twins remarked calmly holding a blood-dripping machete in their hand.  
"Good for him we just came by." agreed the other.  
Walker peeled off his cuffs and took a deep breath.  
"He'd better treat his wound." noticed the Twins as if he couldn't hear them.  
Walker snorted and stood up. The cut burned as he pulled it further apart with his movement and blood soaked the hem of his pants.  
He nodded appreciatively to the Twins, stepping over the motionless bodies on the ground as he returned to their refuge. 

◊

When he arrived she was sitting at his kitchen table and had grabbed pencil and blank paper from his plans. The television was on in the background and during a commercial break, a man sang a terribly insignificant song about cereal.  
She looked up a little shyly, and let her gaze wander over his gash as he came over to see what she was doing there. Apparently she had started to draw a picture, even if he didn't know yet exactly what it would represent. He gave her a quick pat on the head. Let her draw if it made her happy.

He went over to the shelf and grabbed his medical kit to treat his wound.  
It only contained plasters and pressure bandages and Walker pondered for a moment just before he took the needle and thread with which the girl wanted to sew on her trousers that morning.  
She glanced up at him aghast and jumped up to run towards him, almost a little exasperated.  
"You can't just sew it up like that," and gestured with her hands in protest.  
"It won't hurt me," he assured.  
"This is an asylum, there are sure to be proper medical provisions here." the girl insisted and tried to snatch the needle from him. He quickly dodged her hand and kept it out of reach.  
"We can take more than normal people. Anyway, what do you care?" he asked mischievously.  
"I can't even leave this room if you proceed killing yourself." she scolded at him.  
Again he made a quick move and grabbed her by the throat.  
"Why you do that?" she brought out while she fought to loosen his grip with her hands.  
"To see your struggle" he purred and let go of her.  
"Great." She gasped bitterly and rubbed her sore throat.


	5. Chapter 5

Even if he wouldn't tell her, he had taken the advice and was on his way to Mcalister's room. He trusted him, much like the Twins, and knew he would take the task seriously.  
On the way he passed by Harrington, their cook, who casually commented on the blood-dripping wound with "Man, you should really do something about that."  
When Walker knocked on his door, Mcalister opened and said in his deep rough voice "Ah, Walker. Come in."

"Can you patch that up?" Walker asked, pointing to his cut as Mcalister led him to his sofa to lie down.  
None of the Variants was really knowledgeable about medicine, and most of them drew on the knowledge they had learned while being treated by Murkoff's doctors.

Mcalister was once with him in Afghanistan and served with him in the army. He was an intelligent and level-headed fellow who liked to crack cynical jokes. He was almost as tall as Walker and still wore his hair in the military style it had when he was in the army. Murkoff's treatment had also hardened his body, and only the exposed incisors, due to a long scar that ran from his lips to above his eye, spoiled his otherwise handsome features.  
He examined the wound briefly and said "Got this. Having fun with the patiens again?"  
He growled in agreement as Mcalister was fetching his medical kit. "They really seem to love your cute face." joked Mcalister and went to work.  
"Watch out, pretty boy, might be your turn soon." Walker grumbled.

Walker had hesitated for a while and kept silent as Mcalister treated him. "There's something else."  
"Thought that you didn't just drop by for a chat" he grinned crookedly. "Your girl?"  
"Mhm. Can't lock her up there all day."  
"And you want me to hold hands a little."  
"You know not everyone will keep their cool."  
"Don't worry, I can babysit her a bit. Anyway I'm curious who you haven't turned the head of - There you are big guy." he added as he took the final stitches and teasingly slapped the wound with his palm.  
Walker winced and glared at him grimly as they began to bandage him up.

◊

Later that day when they entered the common room, a murmur went around those present. Many raised their heads and looked curiously at the entrance where Walker was standing with the girl.  
She seemed nervous about the attention and even more about the appearance of some. A few of the Variants ran around naked, especially those that still had something to show. Most of the bodies and faces, however, were disfigured and looked as if they were made up of several people. The skin often stretched scarred and sinewy over misshapen limbs and it must appear to her as if she was facing the undead.  
Walker reluctantly pushed her into the room and waved Mcalister over. "Here," he said curtly. "Need to head downstairs for Crowell."  
Shortly afterwards the mood became more exuberant and some came up to take a closer look at the girl.  
"You made a catch there, Walker," Jakobson cheered and Simmons at the bar excitedly cracked a few jokes for those around him, swirling around his penis in an elegant swing of his hips.  
The girl looked up at Walker shyly and horrified as she couldn't believe that he would leave her here with these lunatic ones.  
He pushed her to Mcalister who indicated with a nod for her to come and the two withdrew to a quieter area in the room.

◊

He had gone downstairs to retrieve the entryway cameras that Murkoff had destroyed in their attack. The Twins were already busy and unscrewed the devices from their bases.  
"Looks like he got through this time," they noted.  
"Didn't think he'd be seen again today."  
"He got patched up."  
"Looked bad enough."  
"Crowell asked me to come over." Walker stated and stared furtively outside into the courtyard where the Walrider was circling. He couldn't get in through the main entrance since he at least needed slits or open windows to get in. For some reason, he never knocked doors off their hinges or smashed windows to gain entry, even though it should be easy for him. Also, it didn't look like the Walrider was in the mood to attack - maybe Billy was in control - but it was just a headache to question the whole thing.  
Walker looked around the foyer a bit, still having the note from Coleman's father in the back of his mind. He searched around a little to see if he could find lost pages somewhere but didn't have too much hope that the boy would just have dropped them here.  
Soon he gave up his search and grabbed a table that he climbed onto to help the Twins collecting the broken cameras.  
They would have to order new ones; a few still worked but in the entrance area he didn't want any blind spots.  


◊

Back at the refuge he first paid a visit to Crowell informing him that they would not get all of the cameras working with what they had at their disposal.  
"It's good that you came over." Crowell said, rolling over to his computer and then pointing to one of the screens on his left. "There."  
He looked at the blurry camera shot but there were clearly two narrow shapes to be seen that quickly flitted through the picture. "The Drying Ground?" Walker asked in astonishment.  
"At least a clue that they were hanging around there at some point. Unfortunately, we don't monitor the area well." he said and wheeled back to his computer to switch the camera back to live.  
The Drying Ground was an older part of the asylum, just as the Female Ward, and consisted of a fenced outdoor area and a couple of guard posts and towers. It wasn't near the Underground Lab and not far from the Vocational Block, where Gluskin was up to mischief. Gluskin was a Variant like them but had his own goals and motives like Trager, which he pursued there.  
He was insane but a stubborn one, very effective in tracking down his targets and keeping them to himself. Even some Variants had fallen victim to his madness and they now lived in an avoidant co-existence.  
"Thanks, Crowell." said Walker and nodded in appreciation. "When do you think you can get the cameras?"  
Murkoff had cut them off their supply chains many times before, and they had gotten more creative to make sure they didn't run out of provisions.  
"A week or two at the latest, I think."

◊

As he went down the corridor he heard a loud commotion from the common room. When he entered, Simmons held the girl away from him by both wrists as she furiously tried to kick him into his crotch. The Variants had gathered around and laughed and cheered them on in their duel.  
Mcalister stood a little to one side with his arms crossed, and gave Walker a helpless shrug.  
When Simmons spotted Walker standing in the doorway he called over, "Would you lend me a hand, your girl's a fury", what was commented with boisterous laughter.  
Walker went over to Mcalister to watch the scene with him. "What happened here?" he demanded curiously.  
"He didn't stop teasing I guess."

Walker frowned in disbelief and watched the fight for a while.  
She managed to free herself from his grip with one hand and immediately took a swing. Simmons reacted quickly and brought her hand back under control while laughing himself half-dead and shouting "Walker! Help me!"  
Soon Walker went over and tried to pull the girl off Simmons but she clutched at him and would not let go. "Get her off already!" Simmons cackled out of breath.  
"Knock it off" Walker whispered to the girl and roughly grabbed her neck for which she growled insultedly at him but finally let go.

◊

As he led her back to his apartment he was amused. "I didn't think I needed someone to protect them from you."  
"You better find one for yourself" she glared at him, still heated.  
"It's like you want me to be harsh on you." he remarked.  
"Then go ahead and do it" she snapped recklessly.  
"You are quite testy."  
That was when she fulminated. "You kill half of my family, lock me up in your room, leave me alone all day and you expect me to shrug it off like nothing?" she raged, her body shaking in anger.  
"That's not what-"  
"Then tell me, tell me what it is!" she barked at him and pushed him to provoke.  
He reflexively grabbed her hand and pressed her face to the wall while twisting her arm into another wristlock.  
"Just. Calm. Down." he urged her.  
"I will not serve at your whim, Chris Walker!" she snapped at him, struggling against his grasp once more.  
He thought for a moment and then let go of her. "Very well," he smirked contentedly and dragged her with him to his room.

◊

Locking the door he turned around.  
"Hit me", he prompted.  
Her hands were still trembling and she clenched her teeth in hostility, but then turned around and hissed resolutely "No."  
"Come on, you need this."  
"No," she insisted, clenching her fists and strutting away to her window.  
He followed her slowly. "I killed your father. Just like your brother." he taunted. "He started crying when I-"  
"You fucking asshole!" she interrupted him and slapped him across the face. Walker didn't even flinch and grinned. Her anger made her so predictable.  
"Why did you kill him? He didn't harm you!" she yelled at him and hot tears welled out of her eyes. She stormed him again, this time beating at his chest. When she caught his cut he winced slightly at the pain, but let her proceed.  
Soon her anger subsided and she stumbled backwards, clinging exhausted to the windowsill.  
"Why didn't you spare him?" she breathed voicelessly and bared her teeth at him with red swollen eyes.  
"He was crushed by the ceiling. He was beyond help." he declared calmly.  
Desperate she let herself down on the floor and buried her face in her hands. As she didn't move for a while he figured she might need some time to absorb.  
He patted her head briefly and left her alone with her sorrow.

◊

When he returned to the common room, the mood was still lively.  
"Man how do you sleep at night with her in your room" joked one while another shouted "I'm surprised she's not collected your head yet".  
Simmons stood at the far end of the room, performing a thrusting motion with his hips and earned a lot of applause and laughter from the crowd.  
He was the one Walker was looking for.

Some of the bystanders stepped aside, and Simmons also backed away a little when he saw Walker's eyes were fixed on him.  
He seized him and pulled him tight to his chest while the other hand grabbed his balls.  
"Ah, no!" Simmons exclaimed, holding still convulsively.  
Walker tilted his head forward and whispered softly in his ear. "You better be more mindful about them if you don't want them to adorn my stack" he murmured as he squeezed them tightly.  
Simmons squealed in pain; some around them grimaced painfully or hissed air through their teeth; and Walker let go of him. Simmons sank limp to the ground and sat hunched over, holding his crotch.  
Walker gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder before strutting away.


	6. Chapter 6

For the next few days the girl had become quieter again. She watched a lot of television and drew a little on her pictures.  
During the day she seemed very composed, but sometimes at night, when Walker entered, he would catch her crying suppressed in his bed.  
She only came into the common room every now and then and was supervised by Mcalister, whom she was beginning to trust as well.

One morning Mcalister helped Walker with the plans.  
They sat together at the kitchen table and tried to depict the blocked ascents in the Sewers while the girl was once again sitting in front of the television and let herself be showered by the program.  
All at once she turned to them and asked, "What will you do when this is over?"  
They both glanced up slowly and looked at her in confusion.  
Mcalister was the first to speak. "What do you mean?"  
"I mean when the Walrider thing dies or something, where will you go?" she said, now a little insecure.  
Walker smirked at her naivete and Mcalister said, "Maybe I'll kick Trager out and move into the Male Ward. What about you, Walker?" he turned to him and poked him in the side with his elbow. "You could ask out Gluskin... you'd make a perfect bride, don't you think?"  
"At least I had something to lose once. Heard you were born a fag." Walker grumbled rudely.  
Mcalister laughed out loud. "No girl," he turned back to her with his rough voice. "We're murderers. Lunatics. And we killed plenty before Murkoff even laid hands on us. Look at our faces. There is no place we could go."

Suddenly pistol shots could be heard outside in the courtyard.  
The girl jumped up frightened and ran to the window to lurk out and Walker and Mcalister joined her relaxed.  
Walker's window looked out into the courtyard driveway, and there were a couple of armored personnel carriers. Some prisoners were unloaded and mustered in the courtyard by armed personnel.  
The girl looked up at Walker questioningly who stated "Newbies." and Mcalister prompted, "Come, it's getting interesting," as he moved towards the door.

◊

They headed over to Crowell, where a few Variants had already gathered and were looking intently at the monitors.  
"That's Trager's work." Walker mumbled quietly to the girl.  
"He struck some kind of bargain with Murkoff." Crowell interfered. "Bastard worked for them once. They keep up the charade that this is still an active facility."  
"Guess the government would just drop a bomb on us or something." Simmons cackled.  
"This is not the only facility under Murkoff's control. They use us as some kind of trash can." Crowell proceeded.  
"These are just poor bastards Murkoff wants to get rid of." the Twins threw in. - "It's like death penalty."  
Crowell went on, "They are being moved to us from other facilities and sorted out because they are no longer of any use. Maybe they didn't respond well to therapy or they think the Walrider could make use of them. In the end everyone is glad when a few criminals just disappear."  
"They always excelled at covering things up." - "They covered me up when I was about to take them apart." noted Walker.  
"Sometimes we head down to see if someone could be of use to us, but most of them end up in the Prison Blocks at some point." Mcalister continued.  
"Or with the groom" Simmons interfered smirking.  
"The groom?" the girl asked puzzled.  
"You don't want to know." Mcalister grinned.  
But Simmons continued "He turns us all into ladies and fucks. Us. Up." thrusting his hip forward with each word as his penis slacked around.  
"Let's head downstairs and greet them properly." the Twins suggested.

◊

The entrance hall consisted of a reception area on the ground floor with a gallery above that enclosed it on three sides.  
Murkoff had driven the prisoners through the front doors with warning shots and Trager had closed the security doors from a distance to lock them inside. The armored cars sped away with screeching tires as the Asylum inmates gathered in the gallery walkways. For them it was entertainment, an event that interrupted their daily grind; but also necessary so that some of them may satisfy their inclinations. Rape, necrophilia, cannibalism, murder were all represented. It helped them stay level-headed and not attack each other. Even the Walrider wouldn't attack them during this time, it was like a game.

The Variants gathered on the right gallery and looked down at the fresh meat.  
Across from them, the other inmates crowded together and screamed and whistled exuberantly, while others jerked off in anticipation of what was to come.  
On the middle walkway, Father Martin's followers made a scene and slid in an armchair from one of the surrounding rooms to position it like a throne.  
The newcomers stood huddled and frightened in the entrance hall as in the center of an arena; the individual groups staring down at them from three sides, like lions surrounding their prey.  
Up in the stands the crowd roared, laughed, scoffed and whistled down. Gradually a unified chant formed from the wild screams: "Brides for the groom", to which they rhythmically knocked on the railing.  
After a while, Father Martin stepped forward on the middle gallery and raised his hands to silence the crowd.

All eyes were on him as he spoke in unctuous voice:

_"Praise ye the LORD._

_I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation._  
_The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein._  
_His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever._  
_He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion._  
_He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant._  
_The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever._  
_He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name._

_And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts: for they shall cry unto the LORD, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them._

_In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen."_


	7. Chapter 7

Shortly after Father Martin had finished his sermon, the tumult broke out again. Some inmates stormed down the gallery to pounce on the newcomers and get them to flee deeper into the asylum. Outside in the courtyard the Walrider could be seen circling. He would intercept anyone who managed to leave the facility.  
Most of the Variants did not yet participate in the event, and some went back upstairs to their base. They would wait until the Newbies had dispersed and the hunt become more interesting.

Walker also went upstairs for the time being, and could already hear roaring laughter from the common room in the corridor. He already had a premonition and rolled his eyes.  
Mcalister had put the girl in a headlock and she hit against his elbows, her head flushed, in an attempt to break free. A few Variants had gathered around them at the table and were enjoying the conflict with amusement.  
"Take your fury" Mcalister laughed to Walker when he saw him in the doorway.  
"What's going on here again?" Walker growled and came over.  
Simmons cackled "He cheated, you know him," rocking his chair casually while nodding to the Monopoly game board on the table.  
Walker sighed and grabbed the girl to pull her from Mcalister's grip. He had expected that she now would turn to him angrily, but instead she radiated with joy, her head still red and her eyes full of ardor.  
He motioned for her to follow him and took her back to his room.

"You have to rebel, don't you?" Walker smirked. She smiled back and said nothing. "You haven't told me your name yet" he suddenly noticed.  
"Coleman." she said and had to resist laughing. He grabbed her roughly by the neck and she began to neigh as she hunched her shoulders. It was the first time he'd seen her laugh and he snorted in amusement as it warmed his heart.  
"Well then, Fury." he said and hit her playfully on the back of the head.

◊

"I've been thinking a lot." she said as they were back at his apartment.  
Walker sat over on his couch and listened.  
"About mom... and my friends." she continued. "I think I'll die here."  
"You shouldn't think as much, it haunts." he answered seriously.  
She came over to him and sat on the couch as well. "Doesn't it bother you? Being locked in here until you die."  
"Some are locked in their own minds." he replied. "We are free to live."  
"That doesn't help me." she frowned looking to the floor.  
"What would?"  
She shrugged indifferently and shook her head.

They sat silent for sometime before she glanced over at him. Curiously Walker watched her as she took a deep breath and slit beside him. When their eyes met briefly, she just shrugged her shoulders unsuspectingly and tucked her knees into an embrace. Then she closed her eyes and leaned her forehead on his arm. Walker thought for a while if he should say something but decided to keep quiet. Pacified he smiled at her. Let her lean.

◊

"There's someone sneaking around the Sewers." Crowell's voice came through the radio and destroyed their intimate mood.  
The girl startled up and Walker replied. "Could it be one of the Newbies?".  
"I don't like the looks of it."  
"Mhm."

The girl looked a little disappointed but also with a reddish glare to her cheeks.  
Walker gave her a pat on her head. "Later." and winked with his eye as he left.

◊

As he crossed the lower floors he heard screaming and rumbling from many rooms and saw various inmates chasing down the hallways. The hunt was in full swing, but Walker wasn't particularly interested in the patients. They posed no threat to aid Murkoff or harm the Variants, he preferred to leave them to the others.   
Unlike the person Crowell had seen in the Sewers. When Crowell raised the alarm, it was always to be taken seriously.  
He passed by Manera who happily hummed to himself and stirred a pot in which he was already simmering some limbs.  
"Want some?" he called to Walker as he spotted him, who just grumbled and walked past. He knew why they hadn't chosen him as cook.

◊

It was never completely dark or completely quiet in the Sewers.  
Even when the lights were out, the ceiling grilles still provided shadowy lighting from the upper floors and a rustling and splashing from the channels covered up quiet noises that otherwise helped to track down the targets. In addition, there was a terrible stench of excrement and decay which many of the inmates did not want to be exposed to. Therefore the Sewers were his area, since he was the most tireless of them all. Some areas were provided with a floor grille, others were flooded and waded through knee-deep in the water.  
He walked the canals as quietly as possible, looking for the intruder. There weren't innumerable places where he could hide, but it was easy for a smaller person to bypass him and get through the connecting shafts into another passage; Walker was too big to get through the drains.  
His footsteps were covered by the lapping of the canals, but he never really made an effort to remain undetected. He enjoyed it when his victims knew who was waiting for them; to instil fear into them and maybe to drive them to knee jerk reactions.  
He was just bending down to look into one of the floor channels when a man crawled out at the other end of the tunnel and dashed away.  
Walker heard his steps splash on the other side and hurried after him. He was not a fast runner and usually bet that his victim would run into a dead end in the confusing corridors.

When he got on the other side of the corridor, the person had already disappeared. There was nothing more to be heard and he certainly wasn't hiding far away.  
"Little pig, little pig..." Walker mumbled.  
He patrolled the aisle at the end of which several boxes were piled up. When he was close enough to peer around, the stranger shot past him in the other direction on the other side.  
Walker laughed with joy and went after him, so much the hunt amused him.  
This time the intruder did not try to hide but ran up the stairs for his life. He pushed open the door Walker had come down through, Walker on his heels, panting heavily from his damaged lungs.  
He was shooting around into the next corridor when suddenly there was a loud thud and Walker saw the man sink to the floor around the corner.

◊

"Two to Zero." the Twins bantered when Walker arrived out of breath.  
"That one was mine." Walker huffed sullenly as he approached.  
"We didn't kill him... yet."  
"What are you doing here anyway?" he moaned at them.  
"We heard the radio message." - "And thought we'll have a look." - "Funny that someone is sneaking around here today of all times." - "When everyone is having fun." said the Twins and stepped aside. Walker glared at them nonetheless as he set about picking up the dazed man who was trying to crawl away. He grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up in front of him.  
"Did Murkoff send you?" he inquired.  
"I'm not from Murkoff, I swear," the man whined desperately  
"Who sent you?" demanded Walker, tightening his grip.  
"I-I can't tell" he stammered strainedly.  
"Doesn't matter too much," Walker grunted in annoyance and tore the head from his body in a great fountain of blood.  
"He had a camera with him." the Twins noticed picking it up. - "Looks like he was supposed to be sniffing around here."  
Disgruntled Walker snorted and strutted away, dragging both bodyparts to the Male Ward.

◊

"Trager!" he snapped, carrying the head in one hand and dragging the body in the other.  
"Budd - ah what a waste," Trager interjected, peering at the decapitated body.  
"That one sneaked around my domain taking photos. Said he wasn't Murkoff's."  
"We've had it before, somebody got lost here and thinks he can write the headlines, but that's not how business works" Trager tried to appease.  
"You will let your friends know that someone is trying to expose us. Maybe their transport has been tracked." demanded Walker undeterred.  
"I told them to be careful." Trager hissed angrily. "Very well, leave the body here for further... investigation."

◊

Still a little grumpy, Walker returned to their base and shoved the head into Hudsman's hand that warded the entrance.  
"Take this to the library." he grunted and stalked off.


	8. Chapter 8

When he got back it was late in the evening.  
The room was only dimly lit by the light from the television screen, and the girl sat up and looked at him in shy expectation.  
He had calmed down a bit and pushed his disappointment over the killsteal of the Twins out of his mind.  
"Looks like you've found him," she commented as casually as possible, but couldn't hide a bit of disgust. He read her gaze and retired to the bathroom to wash off the blood that had splashed on his hands and body.

"Who was he?" she asked when he came out again.  
"An informant." he commented briefly. "Murkoff will have to look into this."  
"I don't understand. On the one hand they try to kill you and at the same time they want to protect you?"  
"It's not so much about us as that they don't like unwanted attention from the government. And neither do we." he replied and joined her on the couch.  
There was a tense pause and the girl looked at him nervously.  
Walker snorted and stretched out on the couch. "But that's not what you wanted to ask."  
She shot him a quick disapproving look, then fixed herself on the television. Walker kept looking at her, noticing how embarrassed she seemed as she sat bolt upright and fiddled with her fingers on her toes to keep her hands busy.

After a while she took heart and asked, "Can I come over?"  
"What for?" Walker teased.  
She buried her face with her hands and let out an exasperated sigh, "Don't make it harder than it is."  
Walker chuckled softly, "Well then."

He pulled the cover they had been using when sleeping on the couch over himself and held one side open with his arm.  
"Come" he nodded to her as a prompt.  
She paused for a moment and seemed to hold her breath as she looked at him in disbelief.  
Then she uttered a sound that he couldn't clearly identify as laughing or crying and scurried over to him as if she feared her courage would run out if she didn't act immediately.  
She buried her face at his side and he felt her cold sweaty hands on his skin.  
Not sure how to react, Walker lowered his arm with the blanket to cover her and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze for encouragement.  
"You are difficult to read." he remarked as she clung to him trembling.  
She didn't answer, but he felt she was listening closely, so he continued "Sometimes you seem fierce and now I have to be careful not to break you."  
She crawled up by his side and stuck her head out from under the covers.  
"Nobody is always weak and nobody has the strength for everything." she whispered.  
She put her arm around him and rested her head on his chest.  
Walker felt a sudden surge of satisfaction and relief when he realized that she was listening for his heartbeat, and in a completely unreasonable attempt, he imagined making his heart beat even stronger.  
It wasn't much, but it was what he could give.

◊

"Walker." McAlister demanded and as Walker didn't answer he hit him on the back of the head.  
Walker was caught off guard and started from his thoughts.  
He had felt restless after the night and usually McAlister did whatever it was he did to help him sort things out.  
Sitting on McAlisters couch he rubbed his eyes and sighed.  
"What's wrong? At least I would have expected you to strike back." McAlister teased as he swung himself over the back of the sofa to sit down next to him.  
As Walker didn't answer he went on "How was your night then, thought you would join me downstairs."  
"Was busy." Walker evaded, but grinned mischievously.  
McAlister laughed. "Way to go, big guy. How is she?"  
"I do not know." Walker replied briefly.  
"Ain't it what you wanted?" McAlister wondered.  
"I do not know." he repeated.

McAlister sighed and put his arm around Walkers shoulders.  
"Time for a McAlister Special Session. How can I hurt you?"  
"Hands off, you fag." Walker snapped at him rudely but grinned. McAlister swung himself into Walkers lap in response and put his arms around his neck.  
"To be honest, I don't know what she sees in you." he kept teasing. "What happened to your nose?"  
"So you want it the hard way." Walker got on it.  
He quickly grabbed McAlister's arms and just stood up to toss him off his lap, throwing him to the ground pinning him down with his enormous weight and strength.  
"What now, pretty boy?" Walker murmured into McAlister's ear, who struggled against Walkers grip with low effort and almost laughed himself to death. Walker snorted in amusement and let go of him.

"She has little choice." Walker continued the dialogue as if nothing had happened and stepped off McAlister.  
"And she's got really bad taste." he noted, still out of breath from the laughter.  
"Could be worse, considering you." Walker grumbled.  
McAlister laughed out again. "You think she wouldn't even look at you with her butt if you hadn't locked her in your room." he went on seriously this time. Walker said nothing, confirming McAlister's suspicion.  
"And you might be right." he continued. "She is here now and it may not be a life she wished for, but it happened. And," he got up and pinched Walker's nipple before jumping quickly out of reach as Walker took a swing "think about yourself, too."  
"You're a dick." Walker grunted and headed for the door.  
"You might need one." McAlister called after him and Walker flipped him off.  
Just before leaving, he hesitated and turned back to McAlister, nodding his approval.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note about the expressions I am using.  
> It is not my intention to devalue or insult any sexualities or preferences.  
> Personally, I think that rough expressions fit the characters well and are not meant to hurt anyones feelings.


End file.
